Goa’s zest for fest

World Brief

The Indian government is keen to make the western state of Goa the permanent home of the Indian Intl. Film Festival, along the lines of the Cannes Film Fest, and it is asking the Cannes organizers for assistance.

The area is a beach resort close to Mumbai, capital of the Hindi film industry.

While the government wants to hold the 2004 festival there in February, thesp Shabana Azmi cautioned, “Though Goa is a lovely place it does not have the infrastructure. We should avoid rushing into it.”